Precision dry-stack masonry unit

ABSTRACT

The present invention generally relates to a precision dry-stack masonry unit made of two spaced-apart face shells and at least one connector joining the face shells. The connector has a top surface, a right surface and a left surface. The top surface of the connector and the face shells form a horizontal channel above the connector, and the right surface and the left surface of the connector and the face shells form vertical channels to each side of the connector. Each of the channels is configured to accommodate one or more reinforcement bars.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/640,572, filed Mar. 15, 2018, now pending, and further claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/700,765, filed Jul. 19, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to construction materials and, more particularly, relates to a precision dry-stack masonry unit for use in building structures, retaining walls and sound walls and a method of constructing a wall using the same.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an embodiment of the invention, a dry-stack masonry unit is made of two face shells connected by two interior webs to form a double open-ended bond beam unit having a vertical core forming a channel for accommodating one or more vertical reinforcement bars. The heights of the two interior webs extend from the bottom of the connected face shells to less than the full heights of the face shells to form a horizontal channel at the top of the unit for accommodating one or more horizontal reinforcement bars.

A wall is constructed by stacking horizontal rows of the unit one atop the other with the vertical orientation of the units alternating between each stacked row. The rows are also offset horizontally from one another so that the vertical cores and horizontal channels of the stacked units interlace to form an interior grid of channels within the wall. This interior grid of channels accommodates a mesh of vertical and horizontal reinforcement bars and is filled with grout.

The dry-stack masonry unit of the invention can be cast using less material than prior art units, resulting in a lighter, more affordable unit, and the stacked configuration allows for more robust bar reinforcement and overall wall strength and eliminates the need for grade beam footings. The invention also enjoys the benefits of a mortar-less masonry wall system, including elimination of the need for transporting, mixing and troweling mortar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dry-stack masonry unit according to the invention.

FIG. 1B is a sectional perspective view thereof, taken along line 1B of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view thereof taken along line 4 of FIG. 2, the other side elevation view being a mirror image of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of two units in accordance with the invention stacked one on top of the other in opposite vertical orientations, as would be done in the construction of a wythe using the units.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view, again showing two units in accordance with the invention stacked one on top of the other and illustrating the manner in which vertical and horizontal reinforcement bars would be used in the construction of a wythe using the units.

FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of a partially constructed wythe including three horizontal rows of units according to the invention stacked one on top of the other and horizontally offset from one another, with the vertical orientation of the units alternating between each row in accordance with the stacking method illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 8 is a front elevation view of a partially constructed wythe illustrating the manner in which vertical and horizontal reinforcement bars are housed within the interior grid of channels formed by the interlacing vertical cores and horizontal channels of the stacked units.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a partially constructed wythe made of masonry units according to the invention.

FIG. 10 is a side elevation view of a retaining wall constructed with masonry units according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

The Masonry Unit

FIGS. 1 to 4 show a dry-stack masonry unit 100 according to the invention. Unit 100 is made of two face shells 102 and 103 connected by two interior webs (i.e., connectors) 104 and 105 to form a double open-ended bond beam masonry unit having a vertical core (i.e., vertical channel) 106.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of unit 100, and FIG. 1B is a sectional perspective view of the unit 100 that more clearly shows interior webs 104 and 105. FIGS. 2 and 3 show top plan and bottom plan views of unit 100 respectively.

Face shell 102 has a top edge 113, a bottom edge 115 and side edges 108 and 110. Face shell 103 has a top edge 114, a bottom edge 116 and side edges 109 and 111.

Interior webs 104 and 105 have a height H, that extends from the bottom of face shells 102 and 103 to less than the full height H, of face shells 102 and 103. As described in detail below with respect to FIGS. 8 and 9, the shortened height H_(w) of interior webs 102 and 103 forms a horizontal channel 107 at the top of unit 100 for accommodating one or more horizontal reinforcement bars.

The measurements and proportions of unit 100 can vary depending on the particular requirements of a building project. In one embodiment, face shells 102 and 103 are of identical shape and proportion with the height H, of the face shells (i.e., the length of side edges 108, 109, 110 and 111) being approximately 8 inches, the length of the face shells (i.e., the length of top and bottom edges 113, 114, 115 and 116) being approximately 18 inches, and the width of the face shells being approximately 2 inches. In the same embodiment, interior webs 104 and 105 are also of identical shape and proportion, with the height H_(w) of the webs being approximately 5.5 inches, the length of the webs being approximately 3 inches and the width of the interior webs (i.e., the spacing between the interconnected face shells) being approximately 5 inches, giving unit 100 approximate overall dimensions of 8 inches by 9 inches by 18 inches (typical dimensions used in the construction industry). It should be understood, however, that this is just one exemplary set of dimensions for unit 100.

Unit 100 can be made of cast concrete (e.g., Portland cement and aggregate, such as sand or fine gravel), or can be made of a lower density building material such as fly ash or bottom ash (as in a cinder block) or foam concrete (e.g., autoclaved aerated concrete). The unit 100 can also be formed of any other alternative building materials and/or can be formulated with special aggregates to produce desired coloring or texture.

Method of Constructing Wythe Using the Masonry Unit

FIGS. 5 to 9 illustrate a method of dry-stacking a plurality of masonry units according to the invention in order to construct a wythe 300 that can form all or a portion of a wall, such as, for example, a retaining wall, a sound wall, a veneer, or the wall of a building structure.

In the illustrated stacking method, horizontal rows of unit 100 are stacked one on top of another with the vertical orientation of the units alternating between each stacked row (i.e., a running bond configuration). The units can also suitably be arranged in a stack bond configuration.

FIG. 5 shows a side elevation view of a wythe made of a bottom row of masonry units and a top row of masonry units. Bottom unit 100B is shown with an upright vertical orientation with top unit 100A positioned upside down on top of bottom unit 100B, such that the top edges 113B and 114B of bottom unit 100B roughly align with the top edges 114A and 113A of top unit 100A respectively. The bottom row of unit 100B and the top row of unit 100A are also staggered horizontally, as shown in FIG. 7, in a manner that creates extended vertical channels made up of the vertical cores 106 and the connecting open ends of the units 100 and extended horizontal channels made of the horizontal channels 107 of the units 100. As shown in FIG. 8, one or more vertical reinforcement bars 201 a to 201 g are fed through each vertical channel and one or more horizontal reinforcement bars 201 h and 201 i are fed through each horizontal channel. FIGS. 6 and 8 show that the vertical and horizontal reinforcement bars can be interlocked at points 203 and 204 to form a mesh. The horizontal and vertical channels are filled with grout which, when hardened, secures the reinforcement bars in place forming internal grade beams within the wythe.

FIG. 10 is a side elevation view of a retaining wall made from a wythe 300 constructed with masonry units according to the invention. The illustrated retaining wall serves as a lot line wall separating two lots of land having different elevations.

The masonry units, when stacked as discussed above, result in a sturdy wall structure that is robustly reinforced by the vertical and horizontal web of bars. Additionally, the needs for grade beam footings and for transporting, mixing and troweling mortar are eliminated.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention have thus been described and illustrated herein in detail. These embodiments are merely example implementations of the invention and are not to be taken as limiting, the spirit and scope of the invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims and their legal equivalents. Alternative embodiments of the invention not expressly disclosed herein will be evident to persons of ordinary skill in the art. 

What I claim is:
 1. A precision dry-stack masonry unit comprising: two spaced-apart face shells, and at least one connector joining the face shells, the connector having a top surface, a right surface and a left surface, the top surface of the connector and the face shells forming a horizontal channel above the connector and each of the right surface and the left surface of the connector and the face shells forming a vertical channel to one side of the connector, each of the channels configured to accommodate one or more reinforcement bars.
 2. The precision dry-stack masonry unit of claim 1, wherein the face shells are oriented parallel to one another.
 3. The precision dry-stack masonry unit of claim 1, wherein the face shells are a rectangular cuboid shape.
 4. The precision dry-stack masonry unit of claim 1, wherein each of the connector and the two face shells have a bottom surface, the bottom surface of the connector being coplanar with the bottom surfaces of the face shells.
 5. A wall formed of a plurality of masonry units according to claim 1, the wall comprising: a first row of upright-oriented masonry units, and a second row of upside-down oriented masonry units disposed on top of the first row of units such that the horizontal and vertical channels of the masonry units of the first row and the second row intersect to a form a grid configured to accommodate a mesh of horizontal and vertical reinforcement bars.
 6. The precision dry-stack masonry unit of claim 1, wherein the connector and the face shells are made of at least one of cast concrete, foam concrete, fly ash, bottom ash, sand or gravel.
 7. The precision dry-stack masonry unit of claim 1, wherein the face shells are of identical shape and proportion.
 8. A precision dry-stack masonry unit comprising: two spaced-apart face shells, and two connectors joining the face shells, the connectors and the face shells forming a vertical channel between the connectors and a horizontal channel above the connectors, each of the channels configured to accommodate one or more reinforcement bars.
 9. The precision dry-stack masonry unit of claim 8, wherein the face shells are oriented parallel to one another.
 10. The precision dry-stack masonry unit of claim 8, wherein the face shells are a rectangular cuboid shape.
 11. The precision dry-stack masonry unit of claim 8, wherein each of the connectors and the two face shells have a bottom surface, the bottom surfaces of the connectors being coplanar with the bottom surfaces of the face shells.
 12. A wall formed of a plurality of masonry units according to claim 8, the wall comprising: a first row of upright-oriented masonry units, and a second row of upside-down oriented masonry units disposed on top of the first row of units such that the horizontal and vertical channels of the masonry units of the first row and the second row intersect to a form a grid configured to accommodate a mesh of horizontal and vertical reinforcement bars.
 13. The precision dry-stack masonry unit of claim 8, wherein the connectors and the face shells are made of at least one of cast concrete, foam concrete, fly ash, bottom ash, sand or gravel.
 14. The precision dry-stack masonry unit of claim 8, wherein the face shells are of identical shape and proportion.
 15. A precision dry-stack masonry unit comprising: two parallel spaced-apart rectangular cuboid-shaped face shells each having a bottom surface, and at least one connector joining the face shells, the connector having a top surface, a bottom surface, a right surface and a left surface, the top surface of the connector and the face shells forming a horizontal channel above the connector and each of the right surface and the left surface of the connector and the face shells forming a vertical channel to one side of the connector, each of the channels configured to accommodate one or more reinforcement bars, and the bottom surface of the connector being coplanar with the bottom surfaces of the face shells. 